According to recent data from Experian, 40 million Americans have at least one outstanding student loan. The average amount of debt is $29,000.00, which is an all time high. A common question for many borrowers is “how will my student loans be affected if I get married?”

If your loans are being repaid through income based or income contingent repayment, your repayment plan may be affected if you get married as discussed in a recent article. You are required to provide yearly income information to your loan servicer so your payment can be reassessed. If you file a joint tax return, your spouse’s income will be counted when reassessing your payment. However, if you file a separate tax return, your spouse’s income will not be counted but you may lose other tax benefits of married filers. You should speak with a tax professional to find out which tax filing status is best for your individual situation.

Another common question is whether a spouse can ever be held responsible for the other spouse’s student loans. Federal loans contain a death discharge provision in the event a student loan borrower dies before the loan is repaid. However, this is not the case for all private loans. Whether there is a death discharge provision depends on the original loan contract. If you are married at the time you take out a student loan, the loan may be determined to be a “marital debt” if you were to divorce, depending on the laws in your state. Additionally, both spouses may be responsible for the loan if one spouse co-signed for the other.

Before getting married, it is important to have an honest conversation about each future spouse’s financial goals and debt. High amounts of student loan debt may affect your ability to qualify for a mortgage loan, obtain credit, or save for retirement. It is important to get your student loans in order before combining your finances with those of your future spouse. If you need help navigating your loans and repayment options, our office can help.

Today, 71% of students graduating from 4 year colleges have student loan debt. According to The Project on Student Debt, the average student loan debt for a college graduate is $29,400. However, student loan debt is not only a problem for recent graduates.

In recent years, there has been a sharp increase in the number of older Americans who have student loan debt from financing their own education or the education of their children. As of 2013, people over the age of 65 had $18.2 billion in outstanding student loan debt.

If you have student loans and are approaching retirement, it is important to know that your social security benefits can be garnished by 15% for defaulted federal loans. In 2013, more than 155,000 social security recipients had their benefits garnished due to student loan debt, as discussed by US News & World Report.

If you have federal student loans in default, there are programs available to rehabilitate your loans, get them out of default, and into an affordable repayment plan. Our office can help you figure out the best way to tackle your student loan debt and protect your future social security benefits. Contact us to schedule a no-cost consultation to find out how we can assist you.

Are you struggling under the weight of a student loan? You’re not alone.

Student loan debt cripples many student loan borrowers, including recent graduates. Many leave college with thousands of dollars in student loans. Even with a steady job, it can be difficult to meet student loan repayment obligations. Others struggle for years in an attempt to manage the student loan debt.

Attorney Chris Bush is committed to helping clients develop a payment plan they can manage. He can also determine if a student loan might cause the debtor "undue hardship." This can be used as an exception to the student loan repayment requirements.

In San Diego, attorney Chris Bush helps clients obtain relief from student loan debt. He has more than 20 years of experience. He is committed to making sure everyone has a chance to obtain student loan debt relief. Contact us for help addressing your student loan concerns.

Types of Student Loan Debt

Students may have received federal student loans or loans from private companies – many students use a combination of both to get through school.

Many students have also turned to parents, grandparents or others to either take out the loan or co-sign for it. Either way, this makes the parent a student loan borrower.

Federal Student Loans:

Because so many students have gotten in over their heads with excessive student loan debt, the federal government has developed a whole host of options available to address Federal Student Loans. These types of loans are subject to programs offered by the U.S. Department of Education.

To find out what Federal Student Loans you have, go to the National Student Loan Data System, https://nslds.ed.gov, to get your report. This report contains vital information in evaluating what the next step will be to address your Federal Student Loans. If a student loan is not on this report, chances are the loan is a private student loan.

Once this information is reviewed, Attorney Chris Bush will be able to determine what the best options are.

Private Student Loans:

Private Student Loans are NOT subject to any Federal Student Loan Program. Therefore, they have to be addressed in a completely different manner.

Options for Private Student Loans are very limited, however Attorney Chris Bush may be able to negotiate favorable terms of repayment. The factors widely vary from lender, servicer, and collection agency. Therefore the results also vary.

If favorable terms cannot be reached, then a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is an option that can be exercised to force the Private Student Loan lenders to accept an affordable payment.

Bankruptcy and Student Loans

There is a common misperception that once you take out a student loan, you are obligated to pay it all back no matter what. This is not entirely true. While some student loan debt may not be discharged through bankruptcy, The Law Offices of Chris Bush may have ideas to help you reduce or discharge your debt.

However, it is important to note that the process of discharging student loan debt differs from the process of discharging other types of debt and will require a detailed analysis of the type of student loan as well as the history of the loans.

Student loan debts are not automatically discharged through Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The Chapter 13 bankruptcy process can be used to restructure your student loans into a more manageable monthly payment. Attorney Bush offers comprehensive Chapter 13 bankruptcy solutions to help you set up a payment plan to pay down your debt, including your student loans.

Chapter 13 repayment plan can last for as long as five years. Attorney Bush will develop a feasible plan for you in order that some percentage of all your debt is paid. During the pendency of your case, you will be protected from any and all collection activity; this includes the IRS and any student loan collection agencies or servicers.

Discharging Student Loans: Proving Undue Hardship

Sometimes student loans can be forgiven when the borrower is shown to have endured “undue hardship,” such as:

Disability preventing your ability to work

Fixed income with no possibility of a salary increase

Family issues preventing you from earning a living

Totality of your financial circumstances

Attorney Bush is prepared to address all of your questions regarding undue hardship.

Contact a San Diego Lawyer

Contact us by e-mail or call toll free at (619) 295-3322 to see if you qualify for the hardship exception, or if reorganizing your payment plan is a better option. A free initial consultation is available with an experienced San Diego student loan debt relief lawyer.

Free Initial Consultation *

We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

School Loans

Almost half of those people with student loan debt — 49% of those people, to be exact — say that the student loan debt that they accrued to pay for their studies is in fact now an obstacle to buying a house, according to a new survey from NeighborWorks America.

In fact, 17% of those people with student loan debt said that it’s their largest obstacle to purchasing a home, while only 14% said not having a down payment is the largest hurdle. Having the ability to afford a preferred neighborhood was 13%, and 11% said the lack of job security as the largest problem that hampered their ability to purchasing a house of their own. NeighborWorks America is national, nonprofit, affordable housing and community development organization.

Student Loans

Student loans are very difficult, but not entirely impossible to discharge in bankruptcy. To do this, you must prove that the payment of the debt “will impose an unwelcome and undue hardship.”

Courts use different criteria to evaluate whether a particular owner of debt has shown an undue hardship. If you can, with success, prove you have an undue hardship, your student loan can be completely canceled. Filing for bankruptcy to help with your student loan debt also automatically protects you from collection actions on all of your debts, or at least until the bankruptcy case is resolved or at least until the debt creditor gets permission from the court to resume collection again.

Are you struggling under the weight of a student loan? You’re not alone.

Student loan debt cripples many student loan borrowers, including recent graduates. Many leave college with thousands of dollars in student loans. Even with a steady job, it can be difficult to meet student loan repayment obligations. Others struggle for years in an attempt to manage the student loan debt.

Attorney Chris Bush are committed to helping clients develop a payment plan they can manage. They can also determine if a student loan might cause the debtor "undue hardship." This can be used as an exception to the student loan repayment requirements.

In San Diego, attorney Chris Bush helps clients obtain relief from student loan debt. He has more than 11 years of experience. He is committed to making sure everyone has a chance to obtain student loan debt relief. Contact us for help addressing your student loan concerns.

Types of Student Loan Debt

Students may have received federal student loans or loans from private companies – many students use a combination of both to get through school.

Many students have also turned to parents, grandparents or others to either take out the loan or co-sign for it. Either way, this makes the parent a student loan borrower.

Federal Student Loans:

Because so many students have gotten in over their heads with excessive student loan debt, the federal government has developed a whole host of options available to address Federal Student Loans. These types of loans are subject to programs offered by the U.S. Department of Education.

To find out what Federal Student Loans you have, go to the National Student Loan Data System, https://nslds.ed.gov, to get your report. This report contains vital information in evaluating what the next step will be to address your Federal Student Loans. If a student loan is not on this report, chances are the loan is a private student loan.

Once this information is reviewed, Attorney Chris Bush will be able to determine what the best options are.

Private Student Loans:

Private Student Loans are NOT subject to any Federal Student Loan Program. Therefore, they have to be addressed in a completely different manner.

Options for Private Student Loans are very limited, however Debt Doc Attorneys may be able to negotiate favorable terms of repayment. The factors widely vary from lender, servicer, and collection agency. Therefore the results also vary.

If favorable terms cannot be reached, then a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is an option that can be exercised to force the Private Student Loan lenders to accept an affordable payment.

Bankruptcy and Student Loans

There is a common misperception that once you take out a student loan, you are obligated to pay it all back no matter what. This is not entirely true. While some student loan debt may not be discharged through bankruptcy, The Law Offices of Chris Bush may have ideas to help you reduce or discharge your debt.

However, it is important to note that the process of discharging student loan debt differs from the process of discharging other types of debt and will require a detailed analysis of the type of student loan as well as the history of the loans.

Student loan debts are not automatically discharged through Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The Chapter 13 bankruptcy process can be used to restructure your student loans into a more manageable monthly payment. Attorney Bush offers comprehensive Chapter 13 bankruptcy solutions to help you set up a payment plan to pay down your debt, including your student loans.

Chapter 13 repayment plan can last for as long as five years. Attorney Bush will develop a feasible plan for you in order that some percentage of all your debt is paid. During the pendency of your case, you will be protected from any and all collection activity; this includes the IRS and any student loan collection agencies or servicers.

Discharging Student Loans: Proving Undue Hardship

Sometimes student loans can be forgiven when the borrower is shown to have endured “undue hardship,” such as:

Contact a San Diego Lawyer

Contact us by e-mail or call toll free at (619)678-1134 to see if you qualify for the hardship exception, or if reorganizing your payment plan is a better option. A free initial consultation is available with an experienced San Diego student loan debt relief lawyer.